Bipartisan congressional efforts are underway to allow unspent pandemic relief funds to be appropriated toward infrastructure improvements.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) has cosponsored legislation to accomplish this. The State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act allows various investments to be made using unspent COVID-19 relief funds.
The legislation would provide local and state officials flexibility in determining how to appropriately direct unutilized relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the original CARES Act relief package.
Carl suggested his district would benefit from an injection of investment geared toward infrastructure enhancement.
“South Alabama has a desperate need for investments in true infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, waterways, and broadband,” advised Carl. “As a former county commissioner, investing in our nation’s infrastructure is a top priority for me, so I’m proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill to give states like Alabama the flexibility they need to spend unused COVID-19 relief dollars on critical investments in our nation’s infrastructure.”
The U.S. Senate recently passed its version of the legislation. However, according to Carl, efforts in the lower chamber of Congress have been placed on hold by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
He concluded, “Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi is holding the American people hostage by blocking this bill from being considered on the House floor. Despite passing the U.S. Senate unanimously and being introduced in the House by a large, bipartisan group, Nancy Pelosi is focused on raising our taxes, bankrupting America, and playing political games. It’s time to put the American people first and pass this bipartisan, commonsense bill.”
Currently, a bipartisan group of 29 lawmakers has cosponsored the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
